豺

chái

才 + 豸

Definitions

chái dog-like animal; ravenous beast; dhole (Cuon Alpinus); jackal

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 豸 represents the meaning and 才 represents the sound.

Semantic: 豸 Phonetic: 才

About

豺 is a phono-semantic compound: 豸 (zhì) gives the meaning "wild carnivore" or "beast", while 才 (cái) provides the sound. The character denotes the dhole, a wild dog of Asia, and more broadly refers to jackals and similar predatory canines. Because of their aggressive nature, it is often used metaphorically for cruel, wicked, or ravenous people, especially in the compound 豺狼 (jackals and wolves) to describe vicious individuals.